Website Detail Page

published by
the University of California Museum of Paleontology
supported by
the National Science Foundation

This resource is a practical guide on how to design a fair experiment. In easy-to-understand language, it explains how to set up control groups, manipulate variables, avoid bias, and distinguish chance from real differences. Also included are links to example fair tests in the fields of medicine, paleontology, and physics.

This web page is part of the Understanding Science project developed by the University of California Museum of Paleontology, in collaboration with a diverse group of scientists and teachers.

Standards (11)

AAAS Benchmark Alignments (2008 Version)

1. The Nature of Science

6-8: 1A/M2. Scientific knowledge is subject to modification as new information challenges prevailing theories and as a new theory leads to looking at old observations in a new way.

1B. Scientific Inquiry

9-12: 1B/H2. Hypotheses are widely used in science for choosing what data to pay attention to and what additional data to seek, and for guiding the interpretation of the data (both new and previously available).

1C. The Scientific Enterprise

6-8: 1C/M7. Accurate record-keeping, openness, and replication are essential for maintaining an investigator's credibility with other scientists and society.

9-12: 1C/H1. The early Egyptian, Greek, Chinese, Hindu, and Arabic cultures are responsible for many scientific and mathematical ideas and technological inventions. Modern science is based on traditions of thought that came together in Europe about 500 years ago. People from all cultures now contribute to that tradition.

12. Habits of Mind

12D. Communication Skills

9-12: 12D/H7. Use tables, charts, and graphs in making arguments and claims in oral, written, and visual presentations.

12E. Critical-Response Skills

6-8: 12E/M2. Compare consumer products and consider reasonable personal trade-offs among them on the basis of features, performance, durability, and cost.

AAAS Benchmark Alignments (1993 Version)

1. THE NATURE OF SCIENCE

B. Scientific Inquiry

1B (6-8) #2. If more than one variable changes at the same time in an experiment, the outcome of the experiment may not be clearly attributable to any one of the variables. It may not always be possible to prevent outside variables from influencing the outcome of an investigation (or even to identify all of the variables), but collaboration among investigators can often lead to research designs that are able to deal with such situations.

1B (6-8) #4. New ideas in science sometimes spring from unexpected findings, and they usually lead to new investigations.

1B (9-12) #4. There are different traditions in science about what is investigated and how, but they all have in common certain basic beliefs about the value of evidence, logic, and good arguments. And there is agreement that progress in all fields of science depends on intelligence, hard work, imagination, and even chance.

12. HABITS OF MIND

E. Critical-Response Skills

12E (6-8) #3. Be skeptical of arguments based on very small samples of data, biased samples, or samples for which there was no control sample.

12E (6-8) #4. Be aware that there may be more than one good way to interpret a given set of findings.

Units (1)

This resource is part of a Physics Front Topical Unit.

Topic: History and Philosophy of Physics Unit Title: The Scientific Process

Just what constitutes a "fair test"? This practical guide explains how to set up control groups, manipulate variables, avoid bias, and distinguish chance from real differences. Includes examples of fair tests in the fields of medicine, physics, and paleontology.

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